The IRA had some notable successes. Operatives created posts under the Twitter handle @TEN_GOP, pretending to be the Tennessee Republican Party. They amassed 150,000 followers. Also, a Russian Facebook group using the front Black Matters made a fake protest in New York City the weekend after the election that thousands of people actually attended.

The IRA, which had a monthly budget of more than $1 million, is an example of Russian “information warfare.” POLITICO magazine published an extensive article, which can be read here, detailing this new kind of warfare and its affect on the U.S., as well as other Western democracies and former USSR countries.

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The New York Times reported it is unlikely any of the 13 defendants in the indictment will be arrested because Russia rarely extradites to the U.S. However, it does make it harder for these individuals and three organizations to operate and travel.

The indictment says some defendants communicated with individuals associated with the Trump campaign, who were unaware of their association with Russia. This does not prove collusion nor does the indictment state Russia impacted the 2016 election’s outcome.

U.S. Intelligence Chiefs said in congressional testimony it’s likely Russia will try to influence the U.S. 2018 midterm elections. Here is a link to interviews conducted by Vox with experts on how the U.S. can prevent that from happening.